The psychology behind staying silent page 3 Council says no to four storeys page 8 CannTrust cans 35 page 17 EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS
Larry “BILKO” Bilkszto
SELL phone: 905-321-2261 www.pineSOLD.com
DEBBIE PINE SALES REPRESENTATIVE 905.892.0222 debbiepine@royallepage.ca
E S T A B L I S H E D
1 9 9 7
k
Darcy Richardson, CPA, CA | Broker
RE/MAX® Garden City
DARCYRICHARDSON.CA darcy@revelrealty.ca 905.321.6292
Realty Inc., Brokerage
www.bilko.ca
NRC Realty, Brokerage
Independently Owned & Operated
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The Voice
Your Local Sales Representative 905-563-3330 • 905-641-1110
bilko@rgcmail.com
Vol.23 No.37
September 11, 2019
FREE
At 40, the Willowbrook bloom is still on Four decades later, Fenwick nursery thrives BY JOHN CHICK
Special to the VOICE
Pelham institution Willowbrook Nurseries celebrated its 40th anniversary on Sept. 5 with a customer appreciation day. In addition to welcoming the community and its many outof-town customers, the landmark celebration was an opportunity for longtime employees to take a step back and appreciate just how far the operation has grown—from very humble beginnings. “I remember as a child we purchased a mobile home and put the mobile home on the property,” Chris Langendoen, son of founder and president John Langendoen told the Voice. “We lived in that for a number of years. My parents basically invested everything back into the business.” Chris was born in March 1979—two months before John and wife Jocelyn launched Willowbrook. His parents worked other jobs concurrently at first, including operating a lawnspray franchise. When the nursery became self-sustainable, it became their sole focus. It’s only continued to grow since. In the early 1980s, longtime staffers Jane Broere and Rob Bouwers came
Column Six
Dancing days done A good run, but writing is on the mirror BY JANE BEDARD
Special to the VOICE
I From left, Willowbrook Nurseries' V.P. Chris Langendoen, Mayor Marvin Junkin, Willowbrook Pres. John Langendoen. aboard. “They started with 10 acres of rented land and now have about 200 acres,” Broere said. “I think I was one of the first full-time employees, now we have over 200 employees, full and part-time, in season,” sales manager Bouwers added. John Langendoen’s goal all those years back was to build a full, container-grown nursery. As a wholesaler, it has succeeded beyond his wildest dreams, with clients all over North America. That includes trips around the continent
in search of planting products. John spent a chunk of this summer in Oregon. The success hasn’t come without challenges, however. “I remember we had an extreme windstorm where the entire roof of a polyhouse ripped off at 11 at night,” Bouwers recalled. “We knew we were going to get frost that night, there was a number of us scrambling in the dark to get the roof back on. In this industry we’re always battling nature, whether it’s too dry of a summer, or windstorms … to heavy
snow where the polyhouses are crushed. But we’ve got good, dedicated employees.” Chris added that being in the environment business comes with a commitment to that very environment. “The business we’re in, we take pride in the fact that we support our environment … we’re a green business, we’re growing a product to help sustain our future and we do things like partner with the Canadian Wildlife Federation,” he said. “We take a lot of pride in doing that.” Giving back is nothing
SUPPLIED PHOTO
new for Willowbrook. The nursery has been involved with the Town of Pelham significantly over the years, donating plantings for various renewal projects, including most recently in downtown Fenwick. Sadly, Jocelyn Langendoen passed away in 2009. Out of that loss, Willowbrook continues to donate regularly to the Canadian Cancer Society and to Rose City Kids, a Christian charity that provides Welland children with fellowship and instruction. See WILLOWBROOK Page 20
EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS NRC REALTY, Brokerage 1815 Merritville, Hwy 1 FONTHILL, ON
www.pineSOLD.com
DEBBIE PINE SALES REPRESENTATIVE 905.892.0222
NIAGARA / FONTHILL, ON
Save your family the burden.
Plan your own funeral so they won’t have to. Call today and ask how we can help. Tina
debbiepine@royallepage.ca SELL phone: 905-321-2261
CAN’T DANCE anymore. I’m not injured. I wish I could say that I was, that this was the reason—that I broke my ankle landing some sort of fancy jump at a club late last Saturday night. Or I was out with the girls at a bar, when a spontaneous twerking competition erupted out of nowhere, and I sprained my right glute. Nope. I think I’m just feeling…old. A few minutes ago, I was doing some cleaning with my headphones on, listening to the soundtrack from Mama Mia (which should have been my first clue that these were age- related symptoms) and found myself carrying a laundry basket past a full-length mirror. I did a double-take as I caught my reflection. Suddenly my hips startSee COLUMN SIX Page 17